Michelle Obama isn’t holding back anymore when it comes to Donald Trump.
In her upcoming “deeply personal” memoir, Becoming, the former first lady discusses everything from her love for Barack to her past fertility struggles — but she also boldly shares her honest feelings about the country’s current president.
During an exclusive interview with Good Morning America’s Robin Robert — which airs in full on Sunday, Nov. 11 at 9 p.m. ET — Michelle discussed why she’ll “never forgive” Trump and gave the world a first look at some moving book excerpts.
When her husband Barack decided to run for president in 2007, Michelle said she was unprepared for the extreme ferocity and criticisms that awaited her family along the campaign trail.
“I was female, black, and strong, which to certain people … translated only to ‘angry,'” she explained. “It was another damaging cliché, one that’s been forever used to sweep minority women to the perimeter of every room. … I was now starting to actually feel a bit angry, which then made me feel worse, as if I were fulfilling some prophecy laid out for me by the haters.”
‘Its underlying bigotry and xenophobia hardly concealed.’
But the former first lady said what hurt her the most during that campaign were the relentless and blatantly false allegations that Barack was “a secret Muslim, born overseas.”
As many know, President Donald Trump heavily perpetuated those false allegations, even demanding that Barack publicly present his birth certificate.
In her book, Michelle describes Trump’s actions towards Barack as “crazy and mean-spirited,” explaining her belief that “its underlying bigotry and xenophobia hardly concealed. But it was also dangerous, deliberately meant to stir up the wingnuts and kooks.”
“What if someone with an unstable mind loaded a gun and drove to Washington? What if that person went looking for our girls? Donald Trump, with his loud and reckless innuendos, was putting my family’s safety at risk. And for this, I’d never forgive him,” she wrote.
As I prepare to share BECOMING this fall, I hope you’ll also think about your own story, and trust that it will help you become whoever you aspire to be. Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own. #BECOMING pic.twitter.com/agb7uJhYu8
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) May 24, 2018
Michelle also thought back to the first time she saw the infamous Access Hollywood tape, in which Trump is heard bragging about sexually assaulting women. She said her entire body “buzzed with fury,” when she first watched.
And of course, the former first lady opened up about the 2016 election and discussed the overpowering behavioral tactics she felt Trump used around Hillary Clinton during their televised debates. Michelle also explained how shocked she was that the country elected a “misogynist” over “an exceptionally qualified female candidate.”
On Friday morning, when asked about Michelle Obama’s quotes, Trump reportedly criticized Barack Obama again, saying, “I’ll never forgive him for what he did to our United States military. I’ll never forgive him for many other things.”
Asked about Michelle Obama, President Trump responds with a criticizism of former President Obama: “I’ll never forgive him for what he did to our United States military. I’ll never forgive him for many other things.” pic.twitter.com/iEihcoPPHo
— Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) November 9, 2018
Becoming is set to be published on Nov. 13, and her full interview will air on ABC this Sunday. In the meantime you can read more excepts for the book here.